Rose Bowl 2026: Indiana crushes Alabama to advance

After a night time of rain in Pasadena, the Indiana Hoosiers washed away the weight of historical past.

Entering the Rose Bowl, College Football Playoff groups coming off first-round byes have been winless. At the start of the season, the Hoosiers led faculty soccer with the most all-time losses. During their sole earlier Rose Bowl look in 1968, the Hoosiers misplaced to USC.

Indiana’s soccer program spent most of its time caught in the Big Ten convention basement, but that period is over.

Now, with new blood infused by head coach Curt Cignetti and an offense led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers have turned the web page and shattered expectations.

After a quarter of disregarding their rust following a three-week break, No. 1 Indiana rolled to a 38-3 Rose Bowl victory over No. 9 Alabama Thursday afternoon in entrance of a crowd of 90,278. It is the most important postseason margin of defeat in Crimson Tide historical past.

“We’ve come through in clutch moments,” Cignetti said during his ESPN postgame interview. “I’m proud of the way they’ve responded.”

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1. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is showered in rose petals as he lifts the Leishman Trophy after the Hoosiers’ win. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 2. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza throws a touchdown pass in the second quarter. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times) 3. Indiana offensive lineman Carter Smith celebrates while lifting the Rose Bowl trophy. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 4. Fernando Mendoza celebrates with a rose in his mouth after Indiana’s win. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times) 5. Indiana defensive lineman Daniel Ndukwe tackles Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the second quarter. (Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Indiana scored its first touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Mendoza to Charlie Becker to make it 10-0. It was the first touchdown scored by a Hoosier at the Rose Bowl in program history, the perfect way to establish Indiana’s domination.

Indiana’s defense established its dominance during a pivotal stretch in the second quarter when Alabama could not afford to let the Hoosiers stretch their lead.

Facing fourth-and-one at the Alabama 34, Cignetti called timeout when it was clear the Tide were in a trick play formation. After the timeout, Alabama tried to get the Indiana defense to jump offsides but couldn’t get a penalty and burned a timeout of its own. The teams lined up one more time on fourth down, with Crimson Tide running back Daniel Hill passing to receiver Germie Bernard. Indiana’s Isaiah Jones and Rolijah Hardy combined to stuff Bernard for no gain and a game-defining turnover on downs.

Hoosiers fans celebrated the early success after taking over the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The sea of cherry red fans planted their flag and made themselves heard. Any time the word Alabama was mentioned, Indiana fans booed and asserted homefield advantage. With the skies clearing after a morning of heavy rain, Hoosiers joyously broke out “Who’s your daddy?” chants.

Indiana linebacker Rolijah Hardy tackles Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas after a reception in the second quarter.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Cignetti kept taking jabs at the Tide defense with heavy use of the run game early in the contest. When it was his turn to pass, Mendoza was nearly perfect. He finished 14 of 16 passing for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked three times, but Mendoza never turned the ball over.

Mendoza contributed to the strong Indiana run game, frustrating the gashed Tide defense. With all his receivers covered, he scrambled for a back-breaking eight-yard run in the third quarter to tighten Indiana’s control of the game.

The following play, Mendoza threw a 24-yard touchdown to Elijah Sarrat to make it 24-0. He finished with 38 rushing yards.

Entering the game, Indiana wanted to contain Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. He gave up a critical first-half fumble and struggled to find seams in the Indiana defense. Tide coach Kalen DeBoer eventually benched Simpson, who had been limited by injuries part of this season, at halftime.

Indiana running back Kaelon Black scores on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Crimson Tide second-string quarterback Austin Mack finished the game with 103 passing yards. Simpson finished the game with 67. Mack threw a 34-yard pass to Bernard in the third quarter, which led to a 28-yard field goal that made the score 24-3.

The Hoosiers tacked on a Kaelon Black 25-yard rushing touchdown to make it 31-3. He finished the game with 99 yards and one touchdown.

As clouds dissipated, the Hoosiers booked their ticket to the Peach Bowl, where they will face Oregon in their pursuit of the ultimate team award — the national championship.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is showered in rose petals as he lifts the Leishman Trophy after the Hoosiers’ win Thursday over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)